A lanyard is commonly used by a worker to interconnect a support structure and a safety harness donned by the worker. The lanyard is commonly connected to the support structure with a hook operatively connected to an end of the lanyard. The hook is commonly directly connected to an anchorage member operatively connected to the support structure or the lanyard is wrapped about the support structure and the hook engages the lanyard (commonly referred to as a “tie-back” lanyard). The lanyard could also include a shock absorber to reduce the amount of force exerted upon the worker should a fall occur.
“Roll-out” may occur when the lanyard or the shock absorber contacts or engages an activator of the hook thereby inadvertently applying pressure to the activator causing the hook's locking gate to open. In a roll-out situation this action allows the anchorage member or the tied-back portion of the lanyard to be released from the hook. Should roll-out occur, the worker is no longer connected to the support structure and should a fall occur, the consequences could be life-threatening. Another life-threatening situation could occur if one worker unintentionally disconnects another worker's lanyard.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a hook protection device to reduce the risk of roll-out.